The Princess and the Thief
by Kentethalion
Summary: AU- She is a princess desperately searching for a foothold to regain control of her failing country. He is a legendary thief with a dark past, known only as the Crowned Clown. What will become of them when fate throws them together? Allena
1. Explosions Make the Best Pickup Lines

**A/N:**

holy. fucking. shit.

that's right guys, i'm back, with my second DGM fic. i figured it was about time i return. this is my first AU fic guys, so i really hope you enjoy it.

oh, and for those of you who were slightly miffed at the lack of allena in the last fic, don't worry, no OC romance in this one, just straight allen and lenalee

but, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, enjoy...

* * *

Explosions Make the Best Pick-up Lines

Lenalee Lee sighed and slouched in her chair, violet eyes sliding shut as her head tilted toward the sky. She didn't care if this behavior was unbecoming of a princess, she was freaking _tired._ Besides, she reasoned, she wasn't even inside the castle grounds anymore. She was nowhere near all those nitpicking nobles and servants. She had slipped out without telling anyone, taking only her two most trusted bodyguards along. She opened her eyes and glanced to the next table over, occupied by two men. One, with long, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, had his arms folded over his chest and was glaring at everything around him like it didn't have the privilege to exist. The other man was slumped back in his seat, his feet on the table and his hands folded behind his head, lost in a mane of red hair. His one visible emerald green eye, for the other was hidden by an eye patch, twinkled mischievously.

Kanda Yu and Lavi Bookman. Lenalee's bodyguards ever since she was a child, and two of her closest friends. Thus far, they had thwarted every single attempt made to assassinate, kidnap, or otherwise harm her. She wasn't afraid about being out amongst the people of her nation; she was in good hands.

That brought her back to _why_ she was out here at her favorite food stand.

Lenalee sighed again and covered her face with her hand. She could not believe this. That bastard advisor Rouvelier was trying to undermine her. _Again._ He was constantly debunking everything she said, even if the evidence he used to do so was completely false and created just for the sake of his case. This time it had been about the experiments being conducted to create a super soldier.

She had only become aware of this recently, seeing as the good _Inspector_, as he liked to call himself, had kept it hidden from her quite effectively. When she found out, however, she had immediately moved to have it ended at once. It was inhumane and sick, and she would not have the name of their country, nor hers as a human being, besmirched by such a foul act. But once again, Rouvelier had managed to weave his way into the minds of the council, using blackmail, bribery, and whatever other horrendous methods he could to be sure they would side with him in the debate. He was a fucking _snake._ And he pissed Lenalee off to no end.

She huffed. If she wasn't the only thing holding her country together, and if she didn't love the place so damn much, she would've been out a long time ago. But she couldn't just abandon the people who were relying on her, she would never be able to live with herself if she did. On top of that, everyone she knew and loved was here. Her brother, Kanda, Lavi, Miranda, Krory. Everyone.

Lenalee slid out of her seat, leaving a few gold coins on the table to pay for her and her servants' meals. Her bodyguards proceeded to get up as well, and fell into step not far behind her. No, she couldn't run. What she needed to do was get proof. Proof enough of Rouvelier's crimes that the council couldn't deny she was right. And if she got the right stuff, say, a list of everyone who had accepted his bribes, then maybe she could purge the upper echelon of her monarchy too. She knew that some of the council were still loyal to her, but she needed to know exactly who. Politics was a dangerous game. If she didn't play this right, she could very well make her whole situation worse.

"If only I knew someone who could actually get me that evidence, I'd be all set. I could actually change some things, maybe get this place up on its feet again." She thought for a moment, but came up with no one practical. "Maybe I could get the Crowned Clown to do it." She chuckled at her own thought. There was no way. The man was a legend, the best thief to have ever existed, even greater than the Phantom Thief G. He would take any job for the right price, provided he decided that it wouldn't break his moral code to do so. He had never even come close to being caught, and no one knew his identity. She heard that he had never once accepted a job from royalty though. So she would need to find someone else if she really wanted to get that evidence. "But who-"

Her musings were cut off when a voice suddenly blared out from a building to her right.

"OH, FU-" It was cut off by a tremendous explosion. One that blasted dust out of the windows and doors at an alarming velocity and launched the roof clean off of the stone building. It flew apart in the air, raining down chunks of wood and bits of stone onto the street in all directions. Something large crashed into the ground in front of Lenalee and rolled to a stop several feet away. The princess figured it was just a large slab of stonework dislodged during the blast, not being able to see very clearly at all due to the dust clogging the street, until it moved.

It sat up, revealing itself to be a young man, though she couldn't make out the details of his face. He stood and brushed himself off, mumbling to himself all the while. "Are they fucking insane? Who the hell shoots a flaming arrow into a cloud of gas like that? Don't care if I was trying to escape, idiots nearly blew us all to hell…" He continued grumbling until he spotted Lenalee. "Oh, erm, hello."

"Hello." Who _was_ he? "Did you cause this?"

He shrugged and opened his mouth to reply but was suddenly cut off by a voice calling through the cloud of debris. "Find 'im! We finally cornered th' bastard, can' let 'im scamper 'way now!"

The young man cursed quietly before swiveling his eyes back to Lenalee. "Would you mind accompanying me for a while?"

"Wha-"

"Excellent!" He clamped his hand around her wrist and set off in the opposite direction of the voice. While they moved he produced a cloak seemingly from nowhere and wrapped it around his shoulders, pulling the hood up. Lenalee wondered where Lavi and Kanda had gotten too, only to realize that they probably had been unable to see a thing within the dust cloud. She was on her own. Even though this man didn't seem to wish her any harm, she still felt uneasy. She hadn't the faintest idea who he was, and it was very possible he had caused the explosion.

They suddenly cleared the billowing smog, and Lenalee took a few deep breaths of fresh air before turning to her mysterious companion. She tried to get a good look at him, but his cloak's hood was well-positioned and hid his face from view. She wondered vaguely if he had meant for it to be like that.

Suddenly one of the city guard was in front of them, glaring at them with hard eyes, his hand resting on his sword. "Halt! Who are you, and where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Without missing a beat and seeming completely comfortable with it, the young man spoke up in a voice distinctly higher in pitch than Lenalee had heard earlier. "W-We're just going to the d…doctor's, sir." How he managed to make his voice so shaky was beyond her, but he sounded like a small, frightened little boy. "My sister here, she was…she was hurt in the explosion." He pulled Lenalee forward, as if to present her as some sort of prize. It was a rather stupid thing to do. Didn't this boy realize who she was? There was no way this guard would not recognize her, and then this young man would be arrested. The man scrutinized her closely before sighing.

"Hurry along now, it's dangerous here." _What?!_ "And be sure to get her arm fixed up, you hear?" Lenalee looked down at her left arm, wondering what the man was talking about. Her eyes widened slightly when they saw the gash below her shoulder, blood flowing lightly but steadily from the wound. She hadn't even _felt _it. It was then that she noticed she was absolutely coated with dust. It was no wonder the guard, or her unwanted escort for that matter, couldn't recognize her.

"Yes, sir! Of course, sir! Thank you, sir!" He continued along the street, pulling Lenalee with him. Around them people were yelling and screaming and generally running around like decapitated chickens. When they were out of earshot of the guard, the young man breathed a sigh of relief, his voice no longer shaking. "That was close. Thank you, My Lady, for your assistance."

"But I didn't-"

"Hey, you! Boy!" Lenalee was beginning to get angry at her words cut off. They both turned to find the guard they had just talked to jogging toward them. Maybe he _had_ recognized her after all.

Immediately, his helpless boy voice returning, Lenalee's companion spoke up, "Y-Yes, sir? Is something the m-m-matter?"

"Here," the man said upon reaching them, holding out a small, white box. "It's a first aid kit," he explained, as the boy took it and turned it over in his hands, inspecting it. "Use it on your sister. The nearest doctor isn't for another two miles; if you don't treat that wound fast enough, it may become infected."

"Oh, thank you, sir!" He made as if to hug the guard, but the man jumped back.

"Yeah, yeah, just get moving. We're not supposed to be letting anyone leave, so if I get caught…" He let the sentence trail off, though Lenalee knew exactly what would happen. He'd be expelled from the city guard immediately, and might very well face a trial.

The young man bowed before hurrying off, Lenalee in tow, waving cheerily over his shoulder to the guard. This time though, even when well out of hearing and seeing range, the stranger stayed silent, hurrying through alleyways and across streets with a practiced ease that amazed Lenalee. He seemed to know exactly where he was going. It wasn't until they had put a great distance between them and the scene of the explosion that he slowed his pace, releasing her wrist as he did so.

But even as her arm slipped from his grasp, her hand clamped down on his upper arm, steering him into a dark and hidden alley. She shoved him against the wall, one hand tightly gripping his cloak. She yanked his hood off, finally getting a good look at her accidental kidnapper. He stared at her in surprise, blue-grey eyes wide open. White hair surrounded a handsome face, marred by a vivid scar running down the left half, over his eye and out around his mouth. A gauze pad was plastered at the top of the scar, concealing the skin beneath it. _A recent injury…?_

"Who are you?!"

He raised gloved hands and waved them about, trying to show his lack of hostility. "I'm no one! No one! Look, I'm sorry I grabbed you! Please don't kill me!"

"Then tell me who you are!" she said, angrily brushing a dark strand of her shoulder length hair behind her ear, eyes ablaze.

"Allen! My name's Allen!"

"Allen…?"

"_Walker_! Allen _Walker_! Please don't hurt me!"

Her grip on his cloak tightened. "Why were the guards looking for you, Allen Walker?"

"Um...they…they weren't?"

"Uh-huh, and I'm the god damned Princess." Well, technically that was true, but he didn't need to know that.

"You're going to bleed to death at this rate," he stated suddenly, glancing down at her arm.

"What?" Lenalee followed his gaze, suddenly remembering her injury when the crimson came into view. "It's just a scratch." Though it _did_ seem to be bleeding quite a bit for a scratch. "Don't change the subject. Why were the guards after you? And why did you lie like that to that guard?"

"I didn't lie."

"What?" her eyes snapped back to his, and she was surprised by how gentle, how _sincere_ they were all of a sudden, how kind the smile he gave her was. Her death hold on his cloak slackened a bit.

"I said I didn't lie. You were injured in the explosion, and I was taking you to a doctor to get treated." He reached up and brushed a gentle finger over her wound. Lenalee sucked in a breath as her cheeks flushed slightly. Who the _hell_ was this man? He was confusing her so much. "Give me that arm," he suddenly said, and Lenalee realized that her hand was no longer holding his cloak. In fact, he was now at her side, staring intently at the gash on her shoulder. _How did he…_ She looked at her hand, still curled up as if holding something. _He managed to slip out of my grasp while I was distracted?_

"Well, I can't treat it like this. It needs cleaned. In fact," he gave her a once over, "your whole body does."

"As does yours." Lenalee wasn't sure where her anger had gone. All she knew is that she was now intensely curious about this white-haired boy.

He glanced down at himself before smiling at her. "Of course, but I'm not injured like you are, so it's less imperative for me."

"How could you not be injured? You were right in the middle of that explosion, and you came flying though the smoke! It looked like you came from the second floor."

"I'm perfectly fine," he assured her. "I've got a tough body. Anyway, let's get you back to my place. We'll never make it to a doctor in time." He handed her a square bandage. "Put that over it for now and keep pressure on it, it'll slow the blood flow 'til we can get it properly cleaned and bandaged."

She mutely took it and slapped it over her wound, hissing a bit at the sting.

"C'mon then," he said, grabbing her hand once again, "let's go get you fixed up, Ms…?"

"Ah, Lenalee. I'm Lenalee." He smiled and pulled her hand.

And Lenalee let herself be led out of the alley and into the street, going god only knew where with a strange white-haired boy she had met entirely by chance.

* * *

Lenalee stepped out of the small bathroom, toweling her hair off. She was dressed in a pair of pants and a shirt, both too large for her. They were Allen's clothes, and since hers were currently soaking in hot water, she figured they were better than nothing. Besides, they were fairly decent clothes, Allen had good taste. She soon spotted her white-haired host lying on the couch, one arm covering his eyes. His shirt was untucked, his vest unbuttoned, bowtie undone and hanging limply around his neck, and his boots left haphazardly on the floor.

"Allen," she called softly. She wondered whether or not the young man would recognize her without the extra shell of dirt caked on. She was half hoping he didn't.

He sat up upon hearing her voice, turning to give her a small smile. "All cleaned up then?" Nothing about his demeanor changed when he saw her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she breathed a small sigh of relief. Explaining to him that she was the princess would just give her such a headache.

"Yes, I am. Thank you. Now, if you could," she held out her left arm.

"Right." He stood, nabbed the first aid kit off of the table sitting in front of the couch and moved over to her. As he opened the kit and prepared to bandage her, she noticed that he still had on his left-hand glove, but not his right. She though about asking him about it, but decided against it. He had probably just forgotten.

He gently wiped an antibiotic cream over the gash before turning back to the kit, grabbing out a square pad and a roll of gauze. "You've got a nice apartment," she commented offhandedly as he applied the pad.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. It's a real steal, this place. Got lucky to stumble across it."

Lenalee nodded. It wasn't anything fantastic, like the castle she lived in, or even any of the houses she visited every now and then, but even she could tell that it was a very good find. He had his own bathroom for one thing, complete with full shower. On top of that he also he had a kitchen and a nice sized living area, which were separated by a bar of polished wood. He had one master bedroom and one smaller guest room right beside it. He had populated the place with just enough furniture and decorations to make it seem homely. All in all, in was quite a place, right down to the small fireplace. She wondered what he did that he could afford a place like this.

"Done!" He proclaimed, setting the gauze back in the kit and snapping the lid shut. "That should do."

"That was fast."

"Yes, well, I've had a lot of experience at treating small wounds like this."

"Small?" Lenalee glanced at her freshly wrapped arm. "I'd classify this as at least a medium wound."

"Hmm, maybe. It's the depth that really counts. That wasn't too deep."

"Deep enough that you were going to take me to a doctor."

"Alright, alright. You win, medium wounds then. I have a lot of experience treating _medium_ wounds."

"And why's that?"

"Oh, you know," he said, nervously scratching at the back of his head. "Work."

"You a nurse or something?"

"No! No no no. I meant that I get hurt sometimes at work!"

Lenalee gave him a curious look, forehead scrunching up. "What is it, exactly, that you do, Mr. Walker?"

"I'm a…delivery boy."

"You're a _delivery boy_?" she asked, sounding incredulous.

"That hard to believe?"

"How would you get injured being a delivery boy?"

"Well, I guess a more accurate description would be…a retriever?"

"Huh?"

He shuffled back to the couch and sat down, patting the seat next to him. After a moment of hesitation, Lenalee slid in beside him. "People pay me to get things for them they don't want to get by themselves. Sometimes it involves lots of travel, and sometimes I get hurt getting the items back to the customers."

"So you're a smuggler." Allen sighed and threw his head back against the cushions of the couch.

"No, I am _not_ a smuggler. Smugglers are filthy, and have no honor or-" he stopped, suddenly realizing what he was saying.

Lenalee smiled victoriously. "So you _do_ do something illegal then? You're just more honorable about it than smugglers?" Allen groaned. "C'mon, Allen, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone, promise."

He looked at her curiously before sitting up and turning to face her. The sincerity in her eyes made him believe that maybe he could trust her with his secret. "You really want to know who I am, Lenalee? You want to know what it is I do for a living?" She merely nodded. Allen took a deep breath. "I'm a thief, plain and simple."

She brought her hand up to her mouth in a thinking pose. "Makes sense," she finally said after several tense moments of silence. "I mean, it explains why the guards were after you, and why you could lie so smoothly like that. Also explains what you were getting at with the injuries. But are thieves really that honorable?"

"Are you kidding? Of course we are. No," he shook his head when he saw Lenalee's mouth opening to retort, "I'm not talking about the common pickpocket or burglar you find on the streets and in back alleys. No, we real thieves hold to a strict code of honor, and if you break it you aren't likely to last long. We don't like people who break the code."

Lenalee raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You're kidding me. Thieves have a code of honor?"

Allen frowned at her. "It's not that hard to imagine is it? And on top of the general code, each thief has their own personalized set of standards. Like I, for instance, will only take a job if I deem it inside my morals. I won't steal from the poverty-stricken, nor will I steal something that somebody created by with own hands and work. And my friend, G, always sends a notice to the city guard before he steals. And he only hits artifacts in museums and the like, so that nobody is directly impacted money-wise."

"G? _Phantom Thief_ G? You _know_ him?"

"What? Is it surprising that thieves have friends too?"

"No, just the fact that your buddies with such a well known thief caught me off guard." Allen shrugged. An idea occurred to Lenalee. "Say, by chance, do you know the Crowned Clown."

Instantly, Allen stiffened. "Why do you want to know?" she asked, his voice suddenly cautious.

She held up her hands. "No, no. I don't want to turn him in or anything, and it's not like I've got a vendetta against him. I just heard he's the best, and I was wondering if perhaps I could get him to do a job for me. If you knew him, that'd make my life easier."

"You can always just get a hold of him by normal means, like everyone else."

"Yes, but a request from a _friend_ would have a lot more weight to it, wouldn't it?"

Allen was silent a moment. "You're a wily one, you know that?"

"And you're an odd ball. Quite a pair, aren't we?"

"Indeed, the noble thief and the cunning lady."

"Ok, don't go getting all poetic on me now."

Allen chuckled before standing and walking over to the master bedroom. She heard a closet door opening, followed by the sound of clothes shuffling around. "Unfortunately," Allen called out from inside the room, "the Crowned Clown currently has a job underway."

"He does?" She stood and moved to the doorway of the bedroom, leaning on the frame. She watched his back as he pulled down a small box from the shelf and pulling a few things from within it. He turned around, slipping whatever he had retrieved from the box into a bag he had picked up off the floor.

"Mhm. Though I'm sure it'll be done soon enough. I'll let him know whenever it's over that you'd like to speak with him. In the mean time, I can take you wherever you need to. I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you so much."

Lenalee found herself waving away his concern. "Don't be. I live a very…restricted lifestyle, so this whole adventure has been quite fun."

Allen gave a small bow, "I'm happy to be of service, My Lady." She gave him a small smile.

"You're more like a clown than a thief, you know?" He only gave her a lopsided grin before exiting the bedroom and making his way to the door. "So," she started, lagging behind, "what are you gonna do after you've dropped me off?"

"I've got a delivery to make."

"Ah."

There was a few moments of silence before Allen spoke up, "You don't wanna go back do you?" Lenalee looked up in surprise and opened her mouth to deny his statement, but found that he was right. She _didn't_ want to go back. Not yet anyway. She was enjoying being out of the castle, away from prattling advisors, never-ending reports, and selfish, backstabbing politicians. Her step felt surprisingly light without the worry of a whole nation pressing down on her. She closed her and mouth and swallowed, then slowly shook her head. "Hmm…" Allen mused for a second, before his face split into a grin. "You know, if you want me to put in a _really_ good word with the Crowned Clown for you, you could always help me out again."

Lenalee smiled. "I'd be glad to."

"Well then," he stuck out his arm, "shall we be going, Ms. Lenalee?" Laughing, she slipped her arm through his, and together they left Allen's apartment.

Lenalee was happy. After all, she had found a thief. And even if she couldn't recruit the Crowned Clown, Allen himself might just do.

* * *

**A/N:** well there you have it. expect the second chapter soon, unless school fucks me over. i hope you guys enjoyed it, cause i had a lot of fun writing it. i hope lenalee and allen didn't come across as too OOC. also, if you couldn't tell, language is gonna be a little rough, but i'm gonna leave it at T rating, cause, you know teenagers these days cuss up a storm. to be truthful, i was planning to have a different DGM fic up at the beginning of the month, but i discovered soon after starting to write it that it kinda sucked, and that i wouldn;t have the motivation to finish it, and then this idea popped into my head, and i really got into. i've got a bunch planned for it. So, review, review, review guys! whether you're an old fan of mine or a new one, tell me what you thought! ooh, and tell me what you thought of the chapter title too, i tried to be creative.


	2. Is it Legal if it's Yours?

**A/N:** so yeah, sorry this took so long guys, i got swamped with programs at school, and things just cropped up left and right. i really didn't mean to take this long with the second chapter.

so please, don't be angry and don't kill me, i enjoy living. a lot, i might add.

holy crap though, i did not expect such a positive response for my first chapter. i was incredibly surprised, and i can't thank all of you who reviewed enough, i'm glad you guys enjoy the story

but, here we are, so enjoy...

* * *

Is it Legal if it's Yours?

Lenalee pulled at the bottom of the shirt she had on. She was slightly uncomfortable in the over-sized article of clothing. She was still dressed in Allen's clothes, having not had time to grab her still soaking clothes before they left. She glanced up at the white-haired thief, leading the way confidently through the streets, occasionally glancing back and giving her a wide smile. She wondered where his "job" was going to be taking place, and whether or not she'd actually be able to help him.

Allen hadn't said anything about it yet, so Lenalee had followed his lead and not brought it up. Instead, she turned her thoughts inward, wondering what exactly she was doing. She was accompanying a thief, fully intending to assist him steal somebody's property. Wasn't that…illegal? And she was the head of the country! If she was caught it would be a huge scandal, and would just make her goals all the harder to reach. But for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to stop. She was enjoying herself, more than she had in years. Ever since her parents, the previous King and Queen, had died in a plague, she had been shouldered with the responsibility of a nation. She had endured this long shearly because she had her brother, and later Lavi, Kanda, Miranda, and Krory. But that didn't mean that she was fine. She was far from it.

The stress of running the country, of fighting with men with Rouvelier, of watching the people she loved suffer, had worn her down. The sense of responsibility she always felt weighing on her seemed to have run her into the ground. It felt as though heavy shackles had been attached to her ankles, to keep her from leaving. But here was the only opportunity she had ever come across to escape from this horrid reality, even if only for a short while. Here was a boy who had unintentionally given her that opportunity, who hadn't questioned her motives, but merely invited her along for the ride. It was a first for her. Normally she would have to explain her every action in the smallest detail or someone somewhere would take it as a declaration of war. No, she wasn't going to pass up this opportunity, this one chance she had to live like a normal girl for a while, to take risks and just be reckless. Consequences be damned.

_I wonder what Lavi and Kanda are up to?_ Lenalee gave a little start. She had completely forgotten about her friends! They must have been pulling out their hair at this point, combing the city desperately for her. _Sorry, guys. I'm sure you can forgive me, just this once._ She was going to get quite the lecture when this was all done. From Komui as well as Kanda. Though it was probably going to be just a lot a bawling and wailing on the former's part. Allen suddenly stopped, and Lenalee walked into him.

"Oof!" She took a step back as Allen turned around, concern on his face.

"I'm sorry, I should've warned you before I stopped. Are you ok?" He sounded ridiculously worried over something so small.

"Allen, calm down. I just bumped into you, it's not like you punched me or anything."

"Right, right. Sorry."

"Allen…"

"Sorry."

Lenalee sighed. "Why did we stop, anyway?"

"I needed to get my bearings real quick. We're getting close to the goal, so we need to start playing it safe." Lenalee looked around, and suddenly realized that she was very familiar with this part of the city. She often frequented it whenever she left the castle. She turned, and sure enough, there, rising above the roofscape was the imposing figure of the Royal Castle. She barely held in a groan. If they were this close to home, she might very well just be spotted by a guard or somebody else. She hoped that Allen's clothes were enough to fool people. She supposed having her hair down would help too; it was normally held up in some sort of elegant style she didn't give a piss about. She liked it the way it was now, loose and free. "C'mon," Allen said before setting off again, cutting to the right, into a back alley.

They continued to walk in silence, threading their way through unseen paths and dark alleyways only, keeping to the shadows. Lenalee had to admit, Allen was very good at not being seen. But with each glimpse she caught of the streets, the feeling of dread settling in her stomach increased. They were getting closer to the castle. Eventually, they emerged onto a street, and there, standing majestically on the other side of stretch of bare earth, stood the outer wall of the castle. She stared at it while Allen looked around, as if searching for something.

"Allen," she breathed, her gaze staying glued to the parapets of the castle, especially the tower that housed her room, way in the back. The young thief either didn't hear her or ignored her, for he continued glancing all over. "Allen," she said again, with a bit more force this time.

"Hmm?" he glanced up at her.

"What exactly is your mark?"

He followed her gaze before smirking. "You've guessed correctly, Lenalee. I'm going to rip off the castle." Lenalee's mouth worked, trying to squeeze out words, but nothing came. "Someone's offered me a hefty reward if I steal something of the princess'."

"You're stealing from the princess?!" Lenalee hissed, the irony of her situation not lost on her. She had been looking for an escape, and here she was, right back where she started, about to assist in theft…from herself.

"Yep."

"Allen, you can't. Her room is impenetrable, and the place is crawling with guards."

"So they say," he replied, sounding distracted. "Where the hell is he?" he mumbled to himself. "Must've forgot the meeting time again." Allen sighed before whistling sharply and clearly, two short, high notes that pierced through the air, and then pulled back into the alley, Lenalee following. "I hate having to whistle, he knows that. It looks suspicious."

"Allen?" Lenalee was beginning to worry about the mental wellbeing of her companion. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Perfectly fine, why do you ask?"

"You're talking to yourself."

"Doesn't everyone?"

"I...well…"

He waved off her concern. "Doesn't matter, here he comes now."

"He?"

And suddenly she could here a small whistling sound, one that was getting progressively louder. She glanced toward the castle again, and saw the light glint off of something sailing through the air. The guards patrolling the walls didn't notice the…whatever it was when it flew over them. It arced in a graceful loop before coming to rest, hovering in front of Allen's face.

"Tim! What were you doing? You were supposed to be here before me!" Lenalee blinked in surprise. It looked like a golden ball, with wings, and a tail…and a mouth. The creature made a sound, something that was like a mixture between a growl and a tinkle of bells. "What do you mean I'm early? You forgot again, didn't you?"

"Is…is that a golem?" Lenalee asked hesitantly. The golems were a brand new creation of her brothers. Mechanical, mobile communication devices that could transmit over large distances. They would be invaluable during times of war, allowing orders to be passed instantaneously. They even showed a slight degree of sentience. What could she say, her brother was a scientific genius. A _mad_ scientific genius with a horrible sister complex, but a genius nonetheless.

"Ah, you know about golems?" Lenalee nodded. "Well, Timcampi here's homemade."

Her eyes widened. "You built him?"

"No, I didn't. He's a gift from someone who used to take care of me. He built Tim." The golem spoke up again, and despite the fact that it just sounded like noise to Lenalee, apparently Allen could understand exactly what he was saying. "She's a friend, and don't change the subject." The golem latched his teeth onto Allen's left hand. "Alright, alright," the white-haired teenager didn't seem hurt at all by the sharp teeth. "Just show me what you got." The golem seem to agree, for the next second it released Allen, turned it mouth's upward, and opened wide. A small projection began floating in the air. It looked like…building layouts.

"Allen, are those…"

He nodded, staring intently at the plans. "Yes, these are the blueprints of the castle. Timcampi is a special golem, built specifically for thieves. He scouts out a building, and reproduces what he finds like this, in the form of blueprints. And here," Allen pointed to bright white dots moving around, "he shows the movements of guards or others who could pose a risk of detection. These," he moved his finger to a list of times in the upper corner, "are a set of relevant times. Most likely shift changes and meal times and what not." His brow furrowed. "That's funny," he motioned toward the flurry of white dots moving through the castle, "they seem to be in quite an uproar about something." Lenalee quickly looked down at her feet. She knew exactly what it was about. Her disappearance. Nobody had even known had left, not even Komui. Her brother was probably digging a ditch with all the pacing he was sure to have done in his worrying.

"Here." Allen's voice brought Lenalee back into the situation at hand. He was pointing at a section of wall in between the main entrance and Lenalee's tower, in the back. "I'll enter through here."

"And how will you make it into the princess' tower then?"

"Well, getting across the grounds won't be a problem. And those flying buttresses that circle the main structure will make climbing onto the first level a cinch."

He continued to study the plans. The Royal castle was essentially built into three separate levels. Each circular and smaller in circumference than the one underneath it, the remaining space taken up by gently sloping roofs. A tower adorned the top, dominating the skyline. Flying buttresses encircled the bottom layer. Connected to the second level were six large towers, spaced evenly around the base of the castle. One of the towers, however, was not connected to the castle aboveground. The princess' tower, the one furthest from the main entrance, had two entrances. There was a simple door in the tower, constantly under guard. The other entrance was hidden within the Royal Library, and was an underground tunnel that came out in the basement of the tower. The princess' tower was the most secure place within the royal walls, meant to be the final safe hold for Lenalee, should the worst come to pass. Her personal room was located at the very top.

All in all, the castle looked like a spiky, gothic birthday cake.

"Ok, and how will getting onto the first level help you at all? According to your blueprints, there are only two ways into that tower. Neither of which is accessible from the roof."

"This, Lenalee, is why I'm the thief, and you're the helper. You're not thinking like a crook." Allen gestured at the image again. "I see at least ten possible points of entry aside from the two normal entrances, though only one practical one."

Lenalee looked at the plans again. What was he…? "Ah! The windows!" Allen smiled and nodded. "But, the building's entirely smooth, there's no way you can scale it."

"But you see, the _castle_ is easy to climb."

Lenalee stared at him while his words settled in. "You're going to jump?"

"Something like that. Can't go giving away all of my secrets now, can I?"

She was silent a moment. "So, you don't need me after all."

Allen shook his head gently while Timcampi ceased his projection and flapped over to settle on Allen's head. "I never said that. Those two guards at the top of the wall will be extremely difficult to get by. I could do it, but I'd rather not run the risk of discovery. You're job will be to cause some sort of distraction that draws them away from their posts. All I need is twenty seconds."

"I think I can manage it."

"Good," Allen swung the sack from his back, thumping is down on the ground. "Now go get ready, I'll send Tim your way whenever I'm set."

Lenalee nodded and began to move away, but stopped and turned back. "Allen?"

"Yes?" He looked at her.

She paused, her hand idly resting against the wall of the alley. She bit her lip nervously before saying quietly, "Be careful, ok?"

Allen smiled at her, once again surprising her with how incredibly gentle it was. "I will. Promise. Meet you back here when it's all done."

Lenalee nodded again and left.

Allen waited a few seconds to make sure she was actually gone before leaning down and opening up the bag.

He reached in and fished out a cloak. Large, white, with a fur-lined hood and an unevenly cut base. The hood was topped by four large spikes of fabric, giving the appearance of a giant crown sitting upon his head. Metal cuffs, shaped like crowns themselves, encircled the wrists. He threw it about his shoulders, slipped his arms through the sleeves, and clasped it about his neck.

Next he drew a glove from the bag, though it looked more like a clawed hand. The fingers had been replaced with long, sturdy, razor-sharp blades. When slipped onto his left hand, it would prove an invaluable tool for climbing, or for a weapon, if it really came down to it. As Allen pulled the glove off of his left hand, he winced at the color of the flesh beneath it. It was black, almost as if the life had been drained from his arm, leaving it a dry husk of what it once was. He had purposefully kept it from Lenalee; he knew only too well how people reacted to his arm. Besides, it wasn't like it was the only thing he had kept from her. He put those thoughts from his head as he pulled on clawed tool; he had more important things he needed to be focusing on.

Allen pulled one last item from the bag. The very thing that gave him his thief name.

It was a mask. A half mask of silver. The nose and eyes were gilded in gold, along with the suns rays radiating out from the bottom of the right eye and the three small studs set over the right eyebrow. Under the left eye the mask was trimmed with black stripes of alternating thickness. Above it and below to the left of it was all black.

The mask was the greatest part of his outfit. Perhaps not the most useful, no, that title belonged to his cloak, but certainly the most significant. He had paid the best blacksmith he knew, an old man known as Zhu, a significant amount of money to craft it, and it, along with his cloak, had managed to earn him quite the name.

As he slipped the mask on his face and pulled the hood on the cloak up, he smirked to himself. He was no longer Allen Walker.

He was now the greatest thief to have ever lived. He was now a legend.

He was the Crowned Clown.

* * *

Lenalee didn't look back as she moved from her and Allen's hiding spot. There was no reason to. She didn't need to get one last glance at him. It wouldn't matter if she did. This was going to be the last time she saw him, so having his face committed to memory would make little difference for either of them. Besides, she found that she had already stored his features away in her mind.

She stuck to the shadows of the buildings as she moved, not wishing to reveal herself just yet to the guards patrolling the outer wall. Allen didn't know just how great of a distraction he was going to be getting. He needed twenty seconds? Hell, she could probably give him a solid twenty minutes, at the minimum. If she really wanted to, probably an hour, or more; she was the princess for God's sake! Lenalee reached the square directly in front of the castle gates and stopped. She leaned casually against a wall, as if she belonged there.

She took a deep breath, getting herself ready to plunge back into the constant war that was her life. Her thoughts turned to the young thief now preparing several streets away. How would he fair, she wondered. Would he survive infiltrating the grounds? Would he succeed in getting whatever it was he wanted from her room? She hoped so, for the most part. While having one of her possessions stolen wasn't exactly on her top ten list of awesome things to happen, she could always replace whatever it was he got. And besides, she wanted to see Allen happy, for whatever reason. And he needed to get out unscathed in order to contact the Crowned Clown for her.

Lenalee heard a faint tinkling sound, and suddenly Timcampi was hovering in front of her, the wind stirred up from his flapping gently playing with her hair. She smiled at the small golem. "Ne, Tim, I suppose it's time for me to do my job then." She pushed herself off the wall and glanced at the flying golden ball. "Hey, Tim, tell Allen not to bother waiting for me. I won't be coming back. Tell him thank you, and good-bye."

With that, Lenalee strode out into the sunlight, heading directly across the square. She made it to the halfway point before she got the reaction she was waiting for. A loud voice suddenly called out, followed quickly by another, and another, and suddenly it turned into a great roar from within the walls. The portcullis opened at an alarming velocity and out burst a river of people, all calling her name worriedly.

And, of course, leading the human landslide was her brother, Supervisor Komui Lee. And, of course, there were tears streaming down his face. Honestly, her brother cried more than anyone she had ever known, besides maybe Miranda.

"LENAAALEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" He reached her and swept her up in his arms, holding her so tightly to his chest she found it hard to breathe.

"B-Brother, I'm fine." He continued to bawl, burying his face in her hair. "Brother! Stop crying! I'm back now, and I'm completely fine."

"Then what's this on your arm?!" he practically screamed as his inspected the bandaged wound; she had pushed up her sleeves due to the heat.

"I'm fine!"

"Nonsense, you need to see the doctor!"

"Brother!" No further arguments found their way out of her mouth, for at that moment the remainder of the crowd reached them and surrounded her.

"Your highness-"

"Thank goodness-"

"-so worried-"

She waved her hands, trying to get everyone to settle down, but she knew it'd be no use. After all, she _had_ just vanished on them. So after another ten minutes of being jumbled from person to well-wishing and relieved person, she finally found herself within the castle walls, being hurried toward the grand entrance by her over enthusiastic brother.

"Brother, slow down!"

"But, Lenalee..." Whatever else her brother said went unheard, as Lenalee's attention had suddenly focused on the small white figure scaling the second level of the castle. It was Allen, there was no doubt in her mind. It looked like he had donned some sort of cloak, but she couldn't be sure. As she watched he leaped upward, grabbing a protruding gargoyle head and swinging himself under, up, and onto it. She had to admit, the boy had skills. She felt something settle on her head, causing her to stop staring at the boy thief, which was probably for the better, she realized. Something long and golden fell in front of her face and swayed from side to side. _What? _She glanced up at her head, catching a glimpse of a small round object and the tip of a wing.

"Tim?" she said in surprise. What was Allen's golem doing here?

"Lenalee?" Komui suddenly asked, waterworks magically ceasing. "Is that a golem on your head?"

"Er, yes."

"_Why_ is there a golem on your head?"

"I kinda…met him out in town?"

Komui gave her a look that spoke volumes of disbelief, but seemed to let it slide for the time being. "He seems rather attached to you, does he not have a master?"

"I-I'm not sure. I just found him around, and he followed me around." She was beginning to sweat a little, lying to her brother had never been easy. She thanked whatever passed for a god that in all the excitement he had yet to notice that she was wearing somebody else's clothes. She was fairly certain that the resulting fit would destroy the city. They entered the Entrance Hall, footsteps and voices echoing loudly off the high, gilded ceiling.

Komui nodded before switching back into obsessive brother mode and crooning, "Let's get you to your room, my sweet little Lenalee. I'm sure you need to rest after all you've been through."

Lenalee didn't even have it in her to point out that she hadn't really "been" through anything, but decided to humor her brother. Besides, she wanted to know why Tim had come back to her instead of returning to Allen, and for that, she needed to the privacy of the Royal Library. "I'll go to the library instead, Brother. Just tell everyone I'm going to my room, so they'll leave me alone, alright?"

Komui's face twisted for a second before he assented to her wish, loudly calling out about how he was taking "his adorable sister" to her room to rest. He pranced away down the hallway while Lenalee slipped through a side door. She was beginning to get scarily good at sneaking off unnoticed. She turned, finding herself in another hallway, one she knew quite well. It took her less than five minutes for her to get to the library.

Bookshelves stretched from the floor to the ceiling high above, crammed with tomes, volumes, scrolls, books, everything. She had spent hours in here as a child, reading whatever she could lay her hands on, playing on the wheeled ladders that allowed access to the upper shelves. Lenalee had always come here when she wanted to think or just get away from her duties, locking the door behind her, as she did now, to be sure she wasn't disturbed. She pulled the boots from her feet and strode across the hardwood floor, inhaling the scent of the pages deeply. When her bare feet hit the thick, shaggy rug at the center of the room, she smiled widely.

Lenalee reached up and gingerly plucked the golem from the top of her head. "Now, Tim," she slid into one of the luxuriously upholstered chairs. "Do you have something to tell me?" She released the golden ball, and Timcampi flew in a circle a few times before settling on the floor in front of her, once again opening his mouth to project an image upward. This time it was Allen, standing before her in a white cloak, with some sort of mask on. Her eyes widened. _Wait…_

And then Allen began speaking.

"Good afternoon, Your Majesty…"

* * *

**A/N:** there you go guys, hope you enjoyed it. updates may be getting a tad slower, i've got three fics to juggle around now. btw, for those of you who enjoy either zelda and/or percy jackson and the olypmians, check out my other fics. oh, and i changed the story title, i think i like the new one better, let me know what you guys think.

please review! for every review i get, i will _not_ slaughter a small child, so...review! (or if you don't like children, review anyway and just tell me to knock one off for you XD)


	3. The Real Reason You Work For a Circus

**A/N: **Yo guys, I'm back. Sorry this one took me awhile, but after I had written it the first time, it didn't really mesh too well, so I redid it.

I'm still not overly impressed with it, but hopefully you guys enjoy it

Anyway, I believe I've kept you waiting long enough, so, enjoy...

* * *

The Real Reason You Work For a Circus

Allen crouched in the alley's entryway, muscle tensed and body poised to spring into action. He was careful to remain in the shadows though; he didn't want the guards catching him before everything even began.

Allen glanced worriedly toward the castle entrance. It had been five minutes since Lenalee had left. It had been three minutes since he had recorded his message for her via Tim. It had been one minute since he sent Tim to get her. Allen was beginning to worry that perhaps something had gone wrong, and she had been caught or injured in some way, though the first seemed extremely unlikely, seeing as how she was the princess.

Allen had known who she was from the minute they had cleared the dust cloud, when he had gotten a good, clear look at her. The layer of dust may have fooled the guard and the other random citizens on the street, but to Allen's trained eye, it was clear who she was. Allen didn't normally associate with royalty or nobility, for one very simple and basic reason. He didn't like them. He thought all of them, kings, queens, princes, princess, and even dukes, duchesses, and earls were nothing more than pompous fools who lived for no other purpose than to line their own pockets with money they didn't earn. So of course, naturally, Allen had been planning on ditching Lenalee at the first opportunity he saw.

When he saw the injury on her arm though, his gentlemanly side took over, and he knew he needed to take care of that for her, seeing as how he was half of the cause for it. After all, it had been him that had tried to use the smokescreen to escape, although it had been the guards who had launched the flaming arrow into said cloud of chemicals without even stopping and thinking that there might have been something explosive therein. So Allen had taken the wayward princess with him back to his apartment. Along the way, they had talked some, and she had surprised him. Although it was obvious she had tried to hide the fact that she was the princess from him (which, in and of itself, had impressed him, normally those of higher society announce it at every chance they get, so that they may receive "proper respect") the way she spoke about the country and its people revealed the love she had for them.

Allen was intrigued by this princess. He had never really paid much attention to her before. Occasionally she would make an announcement or appoint a new official, perhaps sign a treaty and create a new law, but for most intents and purposes, she stayed within the walls of her castle. Since Allen didn't really give two tosses about laws (he ignored them anyway) he had never really given much thought to those who created them. He had merely labeled Princess Lenalee as a corrupt individual whose life was based on lies and greed, the same as every other monarch he had come across in his travels.

She had shattered that notion, however. For one, she had been out on the street in plain clothes, trying to blend into the general populace. And she looked completely comfortable with it. This told Allen several things. Firstly, she had done this before, running from the castle and escaping to the city. Secondly, she didn't like being cooped up in the castle, but she did enjoy being amongst the people she governed, and she wasn't scared of being seen without a mask of makeup and clothes that could bankrupt Fort Knox. And next, she had further astounded him with the passion she held for the country. She loved everything about it, except, she had confessed a little shyly, some of the people who ran it.

Needless to say, Allen Walker was intrigued by this Princess, Lenalee Lee. She was the exact opposite of everything he had come to expect from those blessed with a better living. On top of that, she was an incredibly kind and understanding women (aside from the little confrontation in the alley). She seemed to just radiate a warmth that drew people in. Allen could not help but find even _himself_ drawn to her in a mysterious way. He shook his head. He was the Crowned Clown. He could not afford to be drawn to anybody, to be _anchored_ by anybody.

Yet still a small piece of him hung onto the fact that he would probably be seeing the princess at least once more. After all, he _had_ promised that he would talk to…well, himself, technically, about getting her job request fulfilled. He thought that maybe, just this once, he could afford to take a commission from royalty. Besides, he would like to learn a bit more about this princess that interested him so.

Allen did not have any more time to ponder though, as there was suddenly a large uproar from within the castle walls. He glanced to the catwalk, and sure enough, guards were sprinting toward the gateway. They barely even gave the street below a cursory glance as they sped along, obviously incredibly eager to reach the source of whatever commotion had been caused.

Lenalee had done _brilliantly._

Allen burst into motion, legs pushing off the cobblestones powerfully. He was across the exposed street in two strides, and he didn't even hesitate as he approached the wall, leaping upward. He slammed his gloved left hand into the wall, burrowing his fingers into the stone as far as they would go, to give him a secure hold if he were to fall. Which, of course, he wouldn't.

Continuing to use him momentum, with no wasted time nor movement, he flipped himself upside-down, swinging his legs up and hooking his knees over the edge of the parapet. He then continued the flip maneuver, pulling his torso up and over the wall with his abdomen, much like doing a sit up, only one story in the air on a castle wall. Same thing, really. Allen was not even winded. He sprinted to the far side of the outer wall, planted one hand on the edge, and vaulted over. He hit the ground and rolled to his feet, already running across the grounds.

He was doing well. All attention was still centered on the gates, where a crowd of people had gathered, most likely to welcome back their missing princess. Still, Allen was not taking chances, and dove and ducked wherever cover was to be found. He could have sworn that one of the gardeners, a middle-aged, mopey-looking man with a curious white streak in his otherwise dark hair, who had obviously missed the large commotion, had noticed him, for his head came around just as Allen was passing. The young thief had sprung into a tree though, and the next moment he had heard the man muttering to himself, "Must've been a heat delusion or something…" he sniffed loudly. "I'm always being worked too hard."

When Allen was sure that the man had gone back to tending his (rather evil-looking) flowers, he had silently dropped from the tree and snuck off, making sure he was far enough away from the man before he began running again. He wasn't sure exactly how much time he had left, and he needed to be at least onto the second level before order returned to the Royal Grounds. He continued to fly past the flowerbeds, the buds themselves nothing more than bright splashes of colors and vague scents as he flashed past.

A moat rose to meet him. He scoffed, it was _tiny_. Obviously, the castle's designers had not planned on anyone getting past the outer defense system. Well, Allen was going to change that line of thinking today. He had managed to squeeze past the security with ease. Granted he had help, but Lenalee should have trained her defense force to stay at their posts no matter what was going on. To do otherwise was to invite certain disaster.

Like now, for instance._ She's lucky I'm not an assassin._ Allen shuddered._ Anymore._

Allen shook his head. There would be time for the past later, right now he had a job to do, one in which he couldn't afford to not be paying full attention.

He vaulted the moat with barely a jump, landing lightly on the opposite side, right next to one of the support poles for a flying buttress. Wasting no time, Allen flicked out his right arm, and a small length of cloth sprung into his hand. The cloth was the end of a whole roll of the stuff, coiled up within the sleeve and body of his cloak. The material it was made from was incredibly strong and flexible. The end was weighted, so that the shape and flight path of the cloth could be easily controlled by one trained to do so. It just so happened that Allen was. He flicked his Clown Belt, as he had named it, upward, watching with calm eyes as the end wrapped itself several times around the stone bridge. He yanked it once or twice to be sure of its stability, then placed his feet on the column, and began climbing, hand over hand. Though, to be honest, it was more of a run, he was running up the wall.

Many people believed that the Crowned Clown wore the outfit he did simply because it was flashy, and that would make him noticeable, and more famous all the same. While this was somewhat true (you had to establish a name for yourself before you could start getting the good jobs), it was also very far from the main reason why Allen wore his cloak. The truth of the matter was that Allen's cloak was special. Not only did have the ingenious Clown Belt stored within it, it also served as a body armor for Allen himself, should things ever get sticky. The cloak was woven out of fiber that had proved shock, fire, and water resistant, but remained as malleable and flexible as gel. The overlapping layers of weave had saved Allen's life on more than one occasion, most notably stopping a heavy crossbow bolt was punching a large hole in his back once or twice. It had also prevented an accidental explosion, caused by a botched mark, from incinerating him. He had been trying to steal black powder and had tumbled into a guard with a torch; not a pretty site at all. The guard hadn't had any special protection.

Allen pulled himself on top of the flying buttress and lay there for a second, glancing over the edge to see if anyone had noticed him or was paying attention to the castle's walls. There was still a large crowd gathered by the entrance, everyone was trying to jostle their way to the front. He made a small grunt of satisfaction. He pushed himself to his feet, though he stayed crouched low, trying to keep his visibility as minimal as possible. He moved along the buttress, onto the large, sloping roof of the first level. He ran around the side a little ways, putting some distance in between him and the people below, on the off chance that somebody glanced his way.

He reached the wall of the second level and glanced upward. This part was going to be a lot more difficult; there were no conveniently placed marble columns for him to scale. This time it looked like it was going to be straight climbing. He rolled his neck and was rewarded with a few cracks and one loud pop. He sighed in relief; that explosion earlier had been giving him such a crick. _Now, to business._

Anyone watching would have sworn that the young thief was nothing more than a large, four-legged albino spider by the way he scurried up the vertical surface. His hands and feet moved fluidly and confidently over the wall, finding holds that would have been impossible to use were it not him. He occasionally gripped into the stone with his left hand to give himself more stability. It took only a minute to reach the halfway point of the wall, where he promptly planted his feet firmly against the wall and leapt upward, grabbing a protruding gargoyle head. He swung himself back and forth a bit to build up some momentum, then swung himself under, up, and onto the statue's back, landing in a low crouch.

He huffed before allowing a small smirk to grace his lips. _Too easy._

Suddenly Allen felt a chill down his spine. His instincts told him to duck and cover, because someone was watching him. The feelings disappeared the next instant though, and there were no indications that anybody had seen him, so he figured he was safe. _Ignore it, Allen. Keep moving._ He looked up, shielding his gaze from the setting sun. Sixty feet above him loomed the edge to the next level.

Allen began climbing again, wondering off-handedly whether or not Lenalee had listened to his message yet.

* * *

Lenalee Lee was, at that moment, sitting on a richly upholstered armchair in the Royal Library, staring with ever-widening eyes and growing sense of amazement at the recording Allen had left with Timcampi for her.

"Good afternoon, Your Majesty," Allen began. "As I'm sure you now realize, I have deceived you, and for that I apologize. I am not just a thief. I am the one and only Crowned Clown." She had pretty much figured that out by this point due to his clothing, but hearing him confirm it still sent her reeling. Allen, that kind and gentle kid, was the master thief Crowned Clown. Lenalee was having a hard time believing it "And yes," he added with a small smirk, bringing her attention back to his six inch image, "I knew who you were the entire time we were together. However, putting that aside," he waved his hand in dismissal. "The reason I instructed Tim to find you and relay this message is that I would like to arrange another meeting with you. One in which we can discuss this job that you wanted done. I promised you I'd talk to the Crowned Clown, and well…I did, I suppose." She snorted; he was trying to be funny. "I don't normally work with royalty or nobility, but you, Lenalee," he shook his head. "You're different. I'll leave Tim with you; he'll know when and where to come find me. Just be sure to follow him when he lets you know it's time. Until then, Lenalee, take care." Allen gave a small bow, and the projection wavered and fizzed out of existence.

Timcampi closed his mouth and flapped up to Lenalee's eye level. The young princess leaned back in the chair, letting off a great sigh. It had been a long, long day. First she had almost gotten blown up. Then she was essentially kidnapped. Next she assisted in thievery and was jostled back into the castle by a crowd of worriers. And now, Allen had just blatantly told her that he was the legendary thief she had been wishing to meet.

He had been right there the entire time! God, it was so _frustrating_. _I wonder where he is now_ she thought absent-mindedly, staring at the ceiling. And then it hit her, causing her to sit up straight so fast that Timcampi, who had been hovering in front of her face, went shooting across the room like a bullet. He smashed into the wall and fell to the ground, wings and tail crumpled. Lenalee didn't pay him much attention though, nor did she give thought to the stinging pain now radiating from her forehead.

It had just occurred to her that Allen was probably in her room right now, or close by, at least. And she had perhaps the most direct route to the tower not but twenty feet away. Lenalee jumped to her feet and bolted for the one of the rolling ladders that were used to reach the higher shelves. She pulled it to her and _threw_ herself up the rungs, climbing as fast as she could. She nearly slipped, but recovered quickly, reaching the top in a time that would have put an Olympic Sprinter to shame.

"Let's see…" she murmured, tapping her chin while the scanning the titles of the books on the shelf in front of her. "What did brother say this week's password was?" It took a few more seconds before she remembered with a small chuckled. Carefully, so as not to mess up, she reached out and pulled out books in a certain order, spelling out the password by threading together the letters of the authors' names printed on the books' spines. Only when the correct books in the correct order had been moved would the door to the passage open.

Lenalee shifted a book by Ronald J. Ickfess out by a couple of inches, finishing the sequence. She admired her brother's password.

Rou veli eri sapr ick

_Rouvelier is a prick_

She chortled. Normally the password would be changed every week, but Komui had enjoyed this one so much that he had decided to leave it up for the whole month. Lenalee could not have agreed more.

Lenalee reached up and pressed a small button, disguised as a knot in the wood, and a wood panel depressed and slid t to the side, revealing an opening in the wall on top of the bookshelf. She knew that inside there was a ladder that would take her down beneath the castle, where an earthen tunnel fed straight into the tower's basement.

She had to hurry, though. Allen was surely already in her room.

* * *

"Okay, so it's a tad further than I thought it would be," Allen murmured, eyeballing the gap between the top of the castle's central tower, where he stood now, and the top of the princess's tower. "God this would be so much easier if I still had Tim." Allen reached into his cloak and pulled out a long coil of rope. The Clown Belt was an incredibly useful tool, but its length was limited, and there was no way it was going to be reaching where he needed it to.

"Might as well get started." He tied the one end of the rope off on the balcony railing. To the other end he attached a small grappling hook, which weighed far more than it looked. If it hadn't, then there would have been no way for him to reach the princess's tower. As it was, he spread his legs and began swinging the grappling device in large circles. He need to do this in one shot, otherwise the hook would fall and alert someone. Despite the fact that it was steadily getting darker now that the sun was down, it was rather hard to miss a sharp, pointy object falling out of the sky, especially it if stuck you in the eye.

Allen exhaled slowly, completely steadying his body. He then spun with the rope on the last revolution, giving it as much extra momentum as he could, before letting it fly. The hook soared silently through the evening sky, perfectly on target for the tower. It was incredible how far one can make a hook go. The fact that tower's top was slightly lower than his position helped too.

_C'mon, c'mon._ It soared ever closer. _C'mon._ The metal made a muted _ding_ when it hit. Then the weight of the rope pulled the hook back to the edge, where it caught and held fast on a large block. Allen breathed a small sigh of relief as he pulled all of the tension of the rope, refastening it the railing. Now that the difficult part was over, the rest was a cakewalk.

_Mmm…cake…_ Drool began to leak out of the corner of Allen's mouth at the thought of the sweet desert. Rope gave a violent shudder in the wind, snapping Allen back to reality.

He wiped the spittle from his mouth, wishing once again that Tim was there. The small golem had always kept Allen from daydreaming for too long. Allen sighed; perhaps leaving him with Lenalee had not been the best idea. He huffed. There'd be time to worry about that kinda stuff later. Right now, he needed to finish this job. He was sure Bak was tearing his hair out in anticipation of finally getting his hands on something of Lenalee's. Seriously, sometimes Allen worried that his friend's infatuation with the princess bordered on stalker-like obsession.

Allen pulled himself effortlessly onto the rope. He had told Lenalee that he was going to do something akin to jumping. It was more of a tight-rope walking to be honest. Back in his days as a pierrot, when he had been with Mana, he had done this all the time. He could walk a tight-rope in his sleep. Awake though, he could do so much more.

Allen dashed along the line, his balance perfectly centered, moving and bobbing with the ropes every dip and sway. Even if someone looked up, all they would see was a white streak against the night sky. They'd most likely pass it off as a bird. Allen reached the other side without incident. He crouched, still suspended over air by the rope, and inspected the side of the tower. _Good, that window's right where I thought it would be._

The princess only had one window in her room. It was medium sized and faced the castle. In other words, it was the perfect entry point. He shifted his grip and then swung down at the pane of glass, kicking out with both legs when he made contact. The window shattered, sending tiny glass shards everywhere. Allen landed and rolled to his feet, eyes scanning the room quickly, making sure no one was there. He was clear, but he knew he was on a timer now. Nobody could ignore the sound of glass breaking like that. Already he could hear someone climbing the stairs, though their footfalls sounded surprisingly light.

Allen didn't have time to think about it though. He looked around and spotted a comb lying on the vanity up against the far wall. Perfect. It had even had a few hairs still stuck to it (Bak had offered a bonus for those). Allen snatched the comb up and darted for the window. The door burst open just as he cleared the sill; he was safe.

Now, no matter how amazing a thief Allen was, there was absolutely no way he could survive the drop to the ground. As such he had several options open to him. He could always just toss Clown Belt up and catch the rope still spanning the two buildings and lower himself down. Silent and safe. But no, he needed to let everyone know that it had been the Crowned Clown who had stolen from the castle, otherwise someone else could gain fame for _his_ steal.

Still, he winced a bit at his chosen method. A part of him felt like crying because it went against everything he had learned; it was going to make _way_ too much noise. He would have to remember to bring one of calling cards, small, golden-colored pieces of metal shaped like crowns, next time so he would not have to do something drastic like this.

He buried the end of the fingers of his left hand into the stone of the tower and let gravity do the rest. The noise of the metal tearing through the stone probably woke up half of the city. Those who slept on probably had sudden nightmares about horrific banshees and large demons sharpening their gutting blades.

For five full, agonizing seconds Allen free fell with only the resistance of the stone to slow him. When he hit the ground, finally, the only thing he could hear was a loud ringing. The wall beside him rained down bits of mortar and rock from the five deep, jagged gouges left behind. He stumbled for a step or two before regaining his senses and bolting for the castle's outer wall. He cleared the grounds before any of the guards could realize what was going on, stunned as they were by the horrendous keening Allen had caused. He checked to make sure his hood was up and his mask was fastened securely (didn't want to go giving away our identity now did we?) and leapt into a tree next to the wall. He jumped again, landing nimbly on the catwalk. And just like he wanted, he ended up right in front of a guard.

The man took a few stumbling steps back, stuttering something incomprehensible.

Allen smirked, there was no way this man would mistake who he was. He vaulted over the edge and disappeared into the night.

The guard was left with nothing but the vision of a gleefully smiling pierrot with a large crown and a glinting mask.

* * *

**A/N:** So, love it? Hate it? Let me know what you guys thought, review!

In regards to the whole children thing from last time, you guys managed to save 15 kiddies! (I took Inked Wolf's review to mean they did in fact want one knocked off for them)

Also, on a side note: any of you ever played Cave Story? Fantastic game, my friend just showed it to me last week, and I played it for two days solid when I wasn't sleeping and going to class and whatnot. I'm gonna play through it here again soon, I think, try and get the good ending this time.

'Nother side note: if you like 8bit/chipbreak music, I highly recommend you all go listen to Sabrepulse. I just recently acquired his discography, and I've been blasting his stuff all week. He makes me smile, cause its awesome.

Review! It makes me a very happy person!

~ScionoftheEnd~


End file.
